


a summer at camp hogwarts

by bythewaterfront



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Annoying Children, Camp AU, F/F, M/M, Muggle AU, Summer Camp, aw summer love, camp counselors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:54:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28782303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bythewaterfront/pseuds/bythewaterfront
Summary: Remus had been a camper at Camp Hogwarts for the past five years, and has been a counselor for the past three years. This summer is his last to see his friends who live in London, or Sheffield, while he lives in Wales, but specifically, it's his  last chance to ogle at Sirius. Oh, and take care of kids who meddle in his life far too much and wander into the forest with the purpose of getting lost. Not to mention have him out of bed and in the middle of lake late at night. And he also has to save the camp from being bought, but thats by the by with not falling in love with his coworker.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 4





	1. the reunion

**Author's Note:**

> hi! first fic on here, just couldn't get this idea out of my head. this is actually based on what happed to the camp i work at like a decade ago- YMCA owned it and tried to sell it. i really miss it and also just love thinking about the marauders as camp counselors, it fits them well. hope you guys enjoy! please comment, i would love to hear your opinons

Remus gripped the steering wheel of his Austin Morris 1100 as it seemed to tumble down the gravel road, the crunching rocks seeming unbearably loud. The rolled downs windows let in the sweltering heat, made barely tolerable from the shady trees above. He honked around the corner, as the sign 'BLIND CORNER, HONK' said to do, and hummed along to his radio.

Coming back to camp always made him so ridiculously excited that he felt nervous and sick with it- his stomach was doing cartwheels, but maybe that was just the two hour drive and time to think. The thought of the lack of supervision, nights out, and bratty children filling his weeks made him smile stupidly to himself as he passed the corral and went into the parking lot. _Ah, he's already here_ , Remus thought as the gleaming motorcycle leaned against the log wall. He swerved into an unmarked spot, kicking up dust as he did.

Stepping out in the baking sun and thick air, he slammed his car door and trekked up the stairs to the Great Hall Lodge, informally named the Great Hall. It definitely wasn't great, and it definitely wasn't a hall- it was shaped a bit like a fortress, made of dark, thick logs stacked on each other to allow for absolutely no air circulation inside. The windows were grimy enough to keep the inside dimly lit from the lights on metal chandeliers above, and cobwebs clung above the metal screen door that swung freely enough to hit someone when they weren't looking. A cement staircase lead to the always-damp bathrooms filled with huge moths, and a scraggly stone path lead to the front of the lodge where a huge cement patio stood out front with a very out of tune piano kids liked to slam their hands on, a couple of fold up tables and chairs, and wooden benches with the names of donors stood on the ground in front of it. Remus slammed the screen door on the side of the building and blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the change of lighting. The inside tables had been sent up, and a few people he recognized were crowding into corners or running towards each other in greeting. He himself was just about to receive one of these greetings.

"MOONY!" James bellowed, flinging himself across the dusty (and slippery) floor of the lodge to launch himself at Remus. James wrapped his arms tight around him and lifted him off the ground, despite being four inches shorter, but Remus just laughed and hugged him back with equal force. Normally, he would never perform such a display of affection at home, but at camp, it felt a little more normal. 

"Hi James," He chuckled, pulling back to look into Jame's bright hazel eyes. James had the most energy Remus had ever seen, and he was convinced the man was fueled purely by the Redbulls he snuck in mixed with the Three Broomsticks's (the retail store) slushies. James Potter was always a favorite among the kids, and the other staff, but he was the perfect mix of strict and 'ok, I'm not looking and I didn't see you light that on fire'. 

"Moony, I'm supervising Land Games this year, this is a dream come true! I knew old Dumby wouldn't let me down with the skill assignments. Pads is in the bathroom right now, he's doing Windsurfing this year," He glanced down at the crumpled paper in his hand, glanced back up. "You would do Nature, you big nerd." 

"Prongs, that's just rude, you could at least make fun of Wormtail for getting himself stuck in the Broomsticks _again,"_ a cocky voice spoke from behind Remus. Turning around, Sirius Black looked better than ever, to Remus's fortune and dismay. "He has never worked a real skill area a day in his life, and if he steals much more of the food, Minnie is going to have a heart attack," he continued, smirking at his friends. James grinned and provided him with the same greeting Remus got, plus some added cheering. 

"He burns easy, and there's no sunlight in there. Plus, those pretzels are truly a work of art," Remus fired back, an unwilling grin coming onto his face. Sirius chuckled, and prying himself out of Jame's embrace, grabbing Remus for one of his own. Sirius smelled like he always did- petrol, cigarettes, but also that forest smell of camp and the sunscreen from working at the Waterfront. Along with some really nice cologne, which Remus obviously despised and loved. Stepping back, Sirius's eyes bore into him as he flashed him a classic Black smile. 

"I missed you Moony, how was your drive?" And if Remus said that didn't get his heart going a million miles an hour, he was a lying bastard. _Wow_ , he thought, _I really hoped 9 months would fix this._

"I missed you too, Pads. It was really boring, you know-"

" _Remus!"_ A chorus of three high pitched shrieks echoed out before he was once again, bodily slammed, this time by three, albeit smaller, people. He glanced down to see three heads surrounding him, and James's jealous grunt sounding out. Lily looked up at him first, a grin taking over her features. "It's so good to see you, I missed you so much! You didn't text me that you left, and so I was worried you weren't coming until next week and-"

"Dear God Evans, slow down, the man can't understand you when you're speaking a million miles an hour," Marlene quipped, winking at Remus. He chuckled back, and turned to Lily again.

"Sorry, Lily, I just got up this morning, and I couldn't find my bloody net, you know-"

"- _I can never find my bloody net_ -" His friends chorused, cutting him off. He just hung his head and laughed, feeling the happiest he had in months. He glanced at Lily's eyes again.

"You know how it is," he finished sheepishly. He sighed happily, the knot of excitement and anticipation in his stomach finally easing, and he hugged and greeted Dorcas happily while the girls all chattered on. He glanced across the room to see who had arrived- the lodge was pretty full, and even without the kids, was beginning to get stuffy. 

"Remus, when are you heading up to Gryffindor? I'll help you bring your stuff," Lily elbowed him, pulling him out of his daze. He gave her a small smile- the high energy greetings tended to take it out of him for a few minutes while his body adjusted to being constantly surrounded by people.

"Would now be okay? We just have to go to my car," he answered. 

“Evans, breaking the rules for once? No girls on the guy side, you know this,” Sirius smirked, wrapping an arm around Remus’s neck and pulling him in. God, the man could come out of nowhere. 

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Like you’ve ever respected that rule, Black,” she huffed. Remus cocked his head at Sirius.

“She has a point.” Sirius sighed with a smile and pulled him away from Lily, who just huffed once more and mouthed ‘I’ll see you after’.

____________________________________________________________________________

Remus exhaled sharply as they exited the lodge, the humid summer air surrounding Loch Shiel was nearly suffocating. As the boys skipped down the misshapen stairs with expertise, Sirius patted his bike affectionately as they passed.

“McGonagall will have your arse for leaving that there- why don’t you just park it in the back by North field?” Remus asked as he grabbed his things from his car. Then, shoving one of his bags in Sirius’s arms, the boys began the trek down the steep gravel hill. Remus craned his neck to peer into the small building of the Three Broomsticks to see if Peter was in there hiding. “McGonagall is head of the retail stores, parking it outside of the building in plain view is going to drive her up a wall,” He continued, kicking the gravel. Sirius just laughed.

“Moony, Minnie loves me, and she loves my bike, and she will never show it because she can’t let the world know she has feelings for anything other than the stuffed animals we sell,” Sirius scoffed, swinging around the large tree in front of them, covered in signs showing where the living sections were. They had walked down the hill towards the Waterfront, and were right in front of the three-sectioned swimming area on the beach. The water was a calm blue-green in the late afternoon light, the sun turning a slight orange over the edge of the trees surrounding the lake (and the pathetically small island in the middle.) To the right was a long stretch of sand, covered in sparse patches of grass, with one tree and a lonely bench in front. The boathouse was a cobbled thing with an empty lighthouse no one could get into attached to the side of a much smaller building. The entire assemble was made from gray, red, and black stones embedded in concrete, with two large doors that swung open to the inside (with a kind of swivel bar to assert a distinction from staff allowed inside and campers kept outside.) A few steps lead down to the door, where the damp inside and residual smell of lake stuck to the lifejackets and paddles. A large lifeguard chair towered over the boathouse, looking over a small fire pit with four benches, and then the metal pier branched out into the lake, with the tiring and tedious paddle boats docked and floating. A couple of rowboats as well, but those metal tin cans were a bit hard to steer, so no one really paid them any mind. Back on the beach, there were racks of paddleboards and metal canoes that weighed far too much. Slightly further down, plastic kayaks sat on a small wooden- Remus would call it a shelf- waiting to get yanked into the water. A small basketball hoop sat further inward from the water, on more solid sand, and pingpong tables and tetherball games sag next to the blank court. Behind the boathouse sat colorful windsurfing sails. Sirius and Remus stared at all of this, glancing out towards the lake, where they could hear the floating pier in the farthest swimming section knocking about. 

“I forget how quiet it is without kids,” Remus mumbled. The stillness was something one only got on the weekends of camp, and even then cheers from staff ‘relaxing’ could be heard. 

“It’s good to be back, even if we’ll have brats tomorrow,” Sirius answered quietly. They both began walking to a path on the right, a small muddy thing, covered on each side by tall grasses and flowers towards the boys' side of camp. They walked past the cheery and homey Hufflepuff cabins, lit from their porches. Up some honestly terrifying stairs, they passed the Ravenclaw cabins as well, and instead carried onto a fork, where one could see two large groupings of tents sat in circles, a line of trees in between. Going down the right side, they came to a large grouping of permanent tents made of thick tarp (paled with age, but still recognizably red and gold), wooden platforms and beams, and lots of strong rope that would probably have to be replaced because James and Sirius accidentally burnt it. An old sign read ‘GRYFFINDOR’ and scratched underneath, ‘HOME OF THE BRAVE’. Six tents sat in a circle, surrounding a large fire pit with four long logs as benches. Not the most comfortable. 

“Have you and James taken a tent yet?” Remus asked as he perched his stuff on a picnic table to the right of the empty fire pit. Sirius nodded, gesturing to tents one and two, so Remus clambered into tent number three. Two twin rusty bed frames ran the length of the tent on each side, with one bunk bed in the back running parallel to the front. Another bunkbed sat in the middle, parallel to the front two single decker beds on each side. 

"We've got the twins and Caradoc this year, but James is sharing his tent with Peter. Unfortunately, Snape is also back, sharing with Reg," Sirius yelled from inside tent two. Remus heard him jump down from the platform and stomp his way up the stairs into to tent three. Remus decided he would not say anything about Snape or Regulus, because he really wasn't ready to adhere to the small town gossip of camp already. 

“Glad to see we haven’t replaced the frames since World War 2,” He grunted as an answer, flopping his extra mattress pad on top of the ratty blue one, causing the whole bed frame to squeak. Sirius nodded solemnly.

“I forget that every year my back has to readjust to these horrific things,” Sirius kicked a bed frame, causing it to hop a little. A spider fell onto the ground and scuttled up the tarp strings to hide. Remus just continued to place his things under the bed in the middle of the tent, placing his blankets on the bottom one. Sirius just rolled on the blue mattress across from him in silence while Remus got his things organized.

“So,” Sirius began. He was now hanging half off the bed, upside down with his black hair brushing the floor. His face was a bit red, but his eyes gleamed mischievously. Remus thought he still looked good, the bastard. “Dorcas Meadowes is looking good this year,” He blinked at Remus, who just gave a small smile while absolutely looking anywhere but Sirius. 

“Sure,” he replied simply, shutting his trunk and kicking it harshly under his bed to fit. 

“Sure?! Come on, she was looking at you like you were a Greek god when you walked in here- you’ve got to be the tallest now, besides Hagrid of course,” Sirius had now sat up normally and was leaning into Remus’s face as he struggled to put his sheet on his bed. “And, not to mention you got muscles out of nowhere, _and-”_

“Thanks, Sirius, but I really don’t think she’s interested,” Remus cut him off shortly, now laying backward on his bed with his long legs out to try and hook his damned mosquito net into the wires above him. “And neither am I- she’s my friend,” he finished, and sat up. “Shall we go back now? I want to see if Mary’s here.”

Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically, skipped all the stairs from the tent down to the ground, and jumped off the platform. 

____________________________________________________________________________

When they got back into the lodge, many seemed to be returning from their living sections as well. Sirius dragged Remus over by James and Peter, who had miraculously appeared, and everyone gathered at the tables to listen to Dumbledore’s speech to the staff. Dumbledore had an air that everyone seemed to notice when he entered the room, and immediately got quiet- he didn’t need the microphone at the front of the lodge like everyone else to get the kids and staff to listen to him. McGonagall stood at the front, scanning a clipboard.

“Hey, is it my imagination, or does Minnie seem even more tense than usual?” James whispered to the group, glancing at the front. Peter nodded, eyes wide.

“She was awful- she already had me restocking today- They don’t even come till tomorrow afternoon! The whole of Sunday morning is meant for things like that. And- _and_ she made me restock Arts and Crafts too! Marlene was _right there_ ,-” he cut off as Dumbledore walked in, as did many other conversations. The bearded man surveyed all of them with a deep seriousness Remus always felt emanate from him.

“Is he frowning? I’ve never seen him frown before,” Sirius whispered, looking worriedly at their director. Remus nodded- Dumbledore was indeed frowning, which he was sure he’d never seen before in his life. Hagrid, the maintenance man, sat next to him, whimpering and drying his eyes with a rag on his tool belt. 

“I appreciate all of you for coming together to join us at our favorite place once more, and that we have gathered once again to provide a summer of experience for wonderful children.” Dumbledore began. “All the familiar faces are a welcome sight, but I will not pretend that camp will run as normal this year.” At this, some people shifted. Remus cast his eyes over to the Slytherin table in the back- they did not seem the least bit surprised by this announcement, and some even seemed eager. “You all know that the Riddle Camp Association owns us, and decides the runnings of the camp. They also supply us with half of our budget. The company has fallen into some financial misfortune, not due to anything with us,” Dumbledore took a deep breath, and McGonagall put her hand on his shoulder. “They have decided that, despite our good earnings, they are going to sell the camp."


	2. operation: save camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> remus gets angy

Hours later, Remus sat at the Waterfront fire pit in silence, taking a sip from his beer. The sun had set and the stars- clearer from the lack of light pollution- twinkled merrily just to spite him. He peered into the crackling flames in front of him, like they might hold an answer to the unsolvable problem before him, and dug his bare feet into the sand, everyone’s shoes having been discarded. The knocking of the docks and boats, and the unsettling croaking of bullfrogs was the only noise amongst the solemn group, four to each bench. Caradoc, the twins, Benji, Marlene, Dorcas, Lily, Mary, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Everyone seemed to have agreed to a pact of silence. Even Sirius and James had not said a word.

“More beer, anyone?” Marlene sighed, heading to the cooler. Everyone raised their hands in a silent answer. Marlene heaved a tight laugh as she grabbed as many bottles as possible. 

“I’ve never heard the wonder duo so quiet,” she hummed, nodding to Sirius and James as she passed out drinks. Remus nodded his agreement. 

“I’m thinking,” James answered, running a hand through his hair and leaning his forearms on his knees and glaring into the fire like it was a crystal ball. He narrowed his eyes as the flames gave him no answer.

“You don’t have to be silent to do that,” Lily shot back, though it lacked the normal umbrage she had for James. 

“He does,” Remus scoffed, though his statement was untrue. He glanced over to the basketball court behind the canoes, and stared at the Nature Center. Feeling suffocated by hopelessness, he got up. “I’m going to go say hello to Beth and Eliza, see how they’re doing.”

“I’ll go with,” Lily said. Remus had to fight the urge to throw his head back and sigh melodramatically. It would make sense to everyone else why Lily was going with him- she was leading the skill of Nature with him of course, but Remus knew that despite the news they’d heard, she was desperate to know about Sirius. Instead, he nodded, chugged his beer, and began crunching his way along the rough sand with Lily behind him. 

Together they dodged the racks of boats in the dark with practice, although Remus did stub his bare toe on the end of the ping pong tables. Damned things. The cabin looked eerie in the nighttime, a mass of more dark wood, although not cut as nicely as the lodge. They made their way up the stone steps, avoiding the ones that liked to come out of the earth, and Remus unlocked the door and stepped inside. 

The nature cabin was dark, walls covered with diagrams of butterflies, other insects, or plants. A net stood in the corner, and the floorboards creaked. The only lights were from the tanks. Most were empty- every year at the end of the summer, the animals caught that year were let go. Except for two snakes, Beth and Eliza. They had been found injured on the small island last summer, and brought back. Remus had worked desperately to get them back to health. 

“So,” Lily shook him out of his daze by clearing her throat. He groaned and turned toward her, looking at her raised eyebrows. 

“Yes, feelings still painfully there,” he mumbled, walking around without purpose and looking towards the ceiling at the beams spanning across. A couple stuffed badgers looked down at him in pity. 

“Oh, I knew that the minute he walked through the door, but what about  _ him _ ?” she asked, walking across to the largest tank. She peered into the foliage to find the snakes. Remus followed, looking at the two snakes- one gray, one brown. They were tangled together in a small coil, in the corner of the tank, untroubled. He wondered if he could take them home when camp closed down, and then immediately tried not to cry at that thought. He sniffed. 

“He just told me I should like Dorcas, and was annoyed when I said I didn’t want to, her being my friend and all. He was convinced she wanted everything to do with me, since apparently I have muscle now-”

“ _ He said that? _ !” She whipped around to face him, eyebrows raised. “Remus, this is a fabulous sign-”

"It’s nothing special, it’s just Sirius. He wouldn’t try to convince me to date someone if he was interested,” He sighed. Lily let out a sound close to a growl of frustration, but didn’t press. Remus continued on. “I really thought being away would help- I mean, nine months away and you would think feelings for someone that you see three months of the year would go away,” Remus grumbled, and ran a hand through his hair. "It's just like, every time we're reunited here, it's like the first time I saw him all over again. I feel like a lovesick puppy."

Lily patted his head, although she had to stretch to do it. "You are a lovesick puppy, but it's adorable. I think, however, that you should attempt to like another boy here, and maybe tell Sirius and James that you're-"

“Yeah. Hey, I was thinking, for the first day of skill, what do you think about taking the kids around and trying to find plants to make tea with? I saw a patch of chamomile over at the Hill. Plus, it’ll get them acquainted with the area,” He grabbed some shrews from the cupboard and placed them in the tank for the snakes, while Lily shoved him with narrowed eyes. After a moment, she sighed. 

“That’s a brilliant idea,” She conceded, running a hand through her hair. “God, you’re good at this. I always think the kids hate me- I feel too strict sometimes.”

“No, I think you’re the perfect amount of stern and fun. You know when to let silly things go, unlike Benji- he has a stick up his arse, and the kids always mess with him, every year,” Remus chuckled. It definitely wasn’t the kids, but he wasn’t going to tell Lily about that time Sirius and James (and Remus) played Reville at 6 in the morning instead of 7 and got the entire section of Gryffindor to start getting ready an hour early, all because Benji had yelled at everyone for being too loud during rest hour. Definitely not the time.

Suddenly, there was yelling down at the fire pit, and without glancing at each other, Lily and Remus left the Nature center as fast as possible, not before Remus locked the door- they were _not_ supposed to be in there. They ran back to the pit quickly, just in time to see Sirius and James throw Marlene into the water off the boat dock with a cackle. 

“You are so lucky I’m a lifeguard!” Marlene gasped when she broke the surface. “What if I was like Pete, and was a Red swimmer? _What_ if I couldn’t swim?!” She lugged herself back onto the dock with the help of Remus and Lily. Sirius and James had fallen into a paddleboat during their laughter.    
  


“What the hell did you two do that for?” Lily glared, pushing their boat harshly- it rocked precariously, nearly tipping James into the lake. He just grinned up at her, severely more drunk than when Lily and Remus had left. 

“Celebration!” He held up a hand when Lily opened her mouth to ask. “Because, my dear Evans, we _geniuses_ have figured out a way to save camp!” He slurred as he threw his hands in the air and leaned back, causing the boat to rock once more. Sirius let out a large cheer next to him, and clambered over to Remus. He grabbed the taller boy’s leg to help pull himself out of the boat with a grunt. Remus looked at them doubtfully. 

“Camp just has to buy camp! It’s that simple!” He grinned, his hazy gray eyes staring into Remus’s. Remus let out a bark of laughter at that, pulling away from Sirius because he felt that familiar urge to just _grabhimandneverletgo_ rise again. He glanced back to see Sirius staring at him, looking slightly hurt. He glanced to James, and then Marlene, who were both looking at him earnestly as well.

“Christ, you’re all serious aren’t you,” he murmured, wide eyed. They nodded. “But, camp costs millions of pounds, not even Sirius’ inheritance could cover the cost. Not even all of James’ inheritance _and_ Sirius’ could,” he stammered, walking down the dock. 

“But that’s not what we’re saying,” Dorcas began, and where had she come from? “Camp has its own money stored away, and, legally, we could put in a bid for camp. We just have to get 8 million pounds-”

“8 million?!” He whirled around. Suddenly, he was furious- this was an impossible plan, it wasn’t a solution. It was a pipe dream, and how dare they try to give him hope. Camp was all of their second homes, and they were all about to lose it, and he shouldn’t be the only one who could see sense that there wasn’t any saving it. It wasn’t fair he was the only one who saw that, he shouldn’t have to be hopeless alone. He slammed his hand against the lifeguard chair. “Do you hear yourselves? Where in the bloody world are we, a couple of teenagers, going to get 8 million pounds to pay for camp? Bake sales? Car washes?” He hissed, slumping. He turned to Lily. “You can’t agree with them right? I mean, it’s a drunken plan, it’s not possible!” His voice didn’t sound angry though, it just sounded full of despair, it was quiet, which only made him angrier- he wished he could yell. Lily just glanced at him, tears forming in her eyes. 

“What’s wrong with a little hope?” she said meekly, hanging her head. Remus scoffed. 

“I mean, even if we knocked on every door from Polluch to Glenfinnan, and somehow weeded donations from every one- and I mean  _ every. one.  _ \-  _ and _ used Sirius’ and James’ inheritance,  _ and _ camp’s money, we’d only get about,” he grumbled, squeezing his eyes, his fingers dancing by his side. “About 5 million, if that. And, someone could always outbid us anyway.” He sank to the ground in front of the chair and sniffed angrily, glaring at the fire as it began to blur. _ God, I’m crying now _ , he thought, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes. He let out a shaky breath as two warm bodies settled on either side of him. His anger began to melt into painful sadness as he held his breath in an attempt to stave off tears, but he ended up letting out a choked sob anyway. Camp was a beautiful safe haven, where all these great people that he _loved_ came together to create something wonderful, and he was losing it. Even though, technically it was his last year, he always would have had the chance to come back for the weekends during the fall and spring seasons. But if Hogwarts was bought, it was gone for good. It would be replaced by Lucius Malfoy's father's hotels, just like the git always talked about. Remus breathed deeply, only to let out another sob as these thoughts overtook him. 

Sirius' voice pierced through the racket in his mind. “James and I thought, maybe, if we could make a video about camp and what it’s like to be here- how, how special it is, then maybe a lot more people than in Polluch and Glenfinnan would donate too,” Sirius whispered, leaning against him. Remus still did not look up, for he did not want to see Sirius’ eyes right now- those eyes could make him believe anything. “We were hoping, with your video expertise-”

“I’m not in charge of digital photo, that’s Dirk Cresswell,” Remus croaked, a small smile playing on his lips. _Still not looking._

Sirius breathed a laugh. “Yes, but you have a vision, Moony.” James hummed his agreement.

“You would just record camp being camp, and then we’d maybe voice over it, and get the local news stations to air it, and maybe people would give donations.”

“That’s a lot of maybes,” Remus said quietly. James ignored him

“I mean, Dumbledore said we have until September, which is after camp ends. We could all go home, rally some donations there as well, and then  _ maybe _ -” he looked pointedly at Remus, “-we could have enough,” James finished, slinging his arm around Remus’ shoulders. Remus sighed, shoulder’s shaking silently with bitter laughter.

“How is it, even drunk, you two can solve the unsolvable problems?” he whispered, squeezing his eyes which were still behind his palms. 

“Remus, look at me,” Sirius nudged him. Remus did, he peered into those earnest silver eyes, which were searching his. “We need you. You’re the reasonable, intuitive, smart one,” Sirius smiled softly, and it was brighter than any of those stars above. 

“Also, it wasn’t just them,” Fabian called, and Remus had forgotten that everyone was still there.    


“Yeah, we all helped think of it, plus, the vodka Caradoc brought out definitely assisted,” Mary giggled. Remus shook his head and laughed, which sounded croaky.

“Don’t worry, while you and Lily were gone we all had a wee cry,” Marlene said, wringing out her t-shirt. James huffed indignantly. 

“Did not,” he said. Sirius gaped and smacked him upside the head, forcing Remus to duck.

“Yeah right, you prat. You started crying the minute Dumbledore announced it!” Sirius rolled away as James clambered over Remus to get to him. James gasped dramatically. 

“That was Peter! Plus, Kreacher was cooking onions! I hate them, _you know_ this, _you know_ they make me cry!” James screeched, chasing Sirius back around the boat racks, skidding on the sand. 

“That’s only if you’re the one cutting them,” Dorcas scoffed. Remus just smiled and shook his head again. He still didn’t believe it would work, but who was he to stop Sirius and James?  _ If anyone could save camp, those two idiots can _ . Suddenly, a cry went up, and he looked to see James hoisted over Sirius’s shoulder as he walked down the boat dock.

“Sirius, no! Not again!” He yelled, running after him. He leaped over the gate to the dock, and sprinted towards the other boy, the cool metal slippery beneath his feet. Sirius just cackled, and tossed James into the water as he screamed obscenities. He turned back to Remus with a smirk, until he realized Remus hadn’t stopped running. His eyes widened comically, and he held his hands out, “Nononono,” but Remus just grinned and slammed into him, knocking them both into the warm water. 

~/~

After many more beers, and quite a couple shots of vodka, the boys headed back to their side of camp, and the girls began the trudge up the hill to their side. After Benji nearly went into Slytherin twice, proclaiming loudly about camp unity, and after the twins woke up Davey Gudgeon from Ravenclaw, they all made it back into Gryffindor. Remus was feeling quite buzzed and unnaturally calm. He always felt far more at ease at camp- no school work to worry about, no parents, just a nice lax schedule and his friends. Maybe a kid would wake him up at 3 am because they peed the bed, but hey, he could handle that. Even now, after the heartbreaking news, he felt decidedly ‘alright’. He assumed it was due to their ridiculous plan to ‘save camp’. Although, it would probably take all summer to get enough footage to make the video worthwhile, Remus found himself believing in it, just the tiniest bit. He’d always believed in his friends. 

“Hey, Moony, Moony listen,” Sirius whispered, and twisted a knob on a pipe outside of the shower slightly to the left. James howled, cutting off his rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ from the shower.

“You bastard! Make my water hot again or I’m telling Kreacher to serve breakfast quinoa! Just for you!” James peered over the wooden door, glaring. Sirius just grinned and turned the knob back. 

“Hurry up, you great berk! It doesn’t matter how much conditioner you use, your hair will always look like a right mess,” Sirius sing-songed in reply. Peter laughed, and then groaned, running past the shower cubicles to the toilets. All three sighed.

“You know James, you can’t just use Kreacher as a threat or an excuse. He’s a creepy old cook who never leaves the kitchens, not your personal hitman,” Remus chuckled.

“Kreacher is a man of prestige and skill; who else would think to make cold  _ purple _ quinoa with corn and beans for breakfast?” James stepped out of the shower, clothed, and shook his wet hair over Remus. 

“He was a prison cook, not a gourmet chef,” Remus replied, standing up and heading into the shower. He grabbed his towels and his caddy and wandered in, shutting the wooden door and it’s latch- he did not trust the duo to not come inside. He grimaced at the moths and other bugs sticking to the walls high above his head. His least favorite part of camp was the lack of escape from bugs (yes he still was the Nature staff, and therefore looked at bugs. But he didn't want them in his bathroom for Christ's sake.)

“His eggs were green- green!” Sirius yelled. “Sulfur my ass, that’s just bad cooking. Don’t forget, he left the plastic wrap in those potatoes- Molly Prewett nearly had a cow about how one of her kids could’ve choked! That woman is going to be a fierce mother,” He continued. Remus turned on the water and, after getting undressed, stepped inside. The lake and dust always clung to him, and a burning hot shower was the only remedy. Remus scrubbed his body with diligence, making sure that not a single piece of seaweed stuck. He rinsed, washed his hair, and turned off the water- which had stayed the same temperature the entire time.

“Okay, Pete, let’s get you into bed. You gotta be able to get up so you can get to the Broomsticks tomorrow, or McGonagall will have your head,” he heard James say. Peter grumbled something, and then he heard the screen door squeak open and closed. Remus pulled on his pants and shirt, and gathering his items, stepped out. Sirius was sitting on the ground, his eyes closed and hair wet and shiny from his shower. His breathing was even, and he looked at peace. Remus studied him quietly, stealing his chance to stare at him greedily. His hair was longer than the summer of last, and he was taller- though about two inches shorter than Remus. He’d grown into his sharp features, the gangliness of boyhood lost. He’d broadened and grown stronger, to Remus’ annoyance and delight, the rugby he played at home leaving him with defined muscles. Altogether, Remus still wanted to jump him on the cement floor of the bathroom that instant. Instead, he shook him gently and whispered his name.

Sirius’ eyes shot wide open and he leaned back for a moment, fearfully looking into Remus’ eyes. Then, remembering where he was, shook himself and gave a small smile.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to nod off,” he said quietly. Remus just shrugged and held his hand out- now was not the time to ask about Sirius’ family, although that one instance filled him with silent rage. Sirius grasped his hand, sending a jolt through Remus as he pulled him up. 

“You weren’t asleep for long, but we should probably go to bed anyway- it’s one now.”

“We never get proper sleep here,” Sirius muttered. “I’m either awake because of James and his need to win inspection against Slytherin, or because of a kid who shit the bed, or feels sick and ‘oh can I go to the health lodge to see Madam Pomfrey? Does she have the blue gatorade?’” He mocked in a high pitched voice as they left the light of the bathroom, stumbling along the path of dead leaves and damp sticks to the tents. Remus laughed.

“I know- that poor woman has buckets of gatorade. It’s a wonder we drink any water at all.”

“I live purely off those slushies, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Also, Kreacher’s jungle juice,” Sirius stated matter-of-factly.

Remus gagged, “The jungle juice is the worst one! It’s absolutely fruit punch or nothing, what is the matter with you?” He glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye. The boy looked ethereal in the moonlight, living up to his star-namesake. Sirius turned to face him and caught his eye. They stared at each other for a good second, Remus’ heart rate skyrocketing in a way that would make doctors faint.

“I’m just glad we all get to be together again,” he said softly. Remus’ breath quickened as he nodded.

“Yeah, yeah I missed you guys throwing bread rolls at me from across our table,” Remus muttered, staring at the ground because otherwise, he was sure he would not be able to function if he continued to look at Sirius.  _ This is ridiculous, I’m ridiculous _ , he chanted in his brain. He felt Sirius continue to stare at him. 

“Goodnight Moony,” Sirius said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Remus glanced up, giving him a small smile despite his racing heart. 

“Night Sirius. I’ll see you in the morning,” and with that, he walked calmly to his tent, and once inside flung himself onto his bed. It squeaked loudly in protest as he groaned in frustration. The summer was going to be long, and then, they would all go their separate ways with promises to remain in contact. But university, distance, and life would probably get in the way, and by the end of the year, they wouldn’t speak at all. Remus’ heart clenched painfully at the thought, and he forbade himself to think about it anymore as he tucked himself into bed, the sound of moving trees, crickets, and frogs lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it seems to be goin kinda fast but i promise you, it's all gonna slow down once kids get here, i just needed to get the video idea in. i am hype for kids though


End file.
